Rotary conveyer



F ,1947. ERZADEMACH Em 2,415 201 ROTARY CONVEYER Filed May 14, 1945' 4She ets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

[r/c/v fi? Zddemac/mm' ma /m1 W Oar/re AT TORNEYS Feb. 4, 1947. M H ETAL2,415,261

ROTARY CONVEYER Filed May 14, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [rm/7 Ii.Zademac/MM WIN/am W (Var/re A T TORNE Y5 Feb. 4, 1947. a. R. ZADEMACHETAL ,4 ,20

ROTARY CONVEYER AT TORNE Y5 Patented F ch. 4, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE Erich a 335? William W.

Clarke, Summit, N. J assignors to Metalwash Machinery Company,Irvington, J., a -co partnership The present invention relates to amachine for cleaning, washing, rinsing, drying or (otherwise treatingarticles in successive stages while said articles are being conveyed.The invention is an improvement on the general type or article treatmgmachine disclosed in :copending application although it has .a widerange of utility, it is particularly adapted. for use in washing, dryingor otherwise treating articles. In this general type of machine, whilethe :articles are being conveyed on a rotary support through 'a chamber,they are subjected to liquids, gases or other treating operations insuccessive stages.

One object of the present invention is toprovide a new and improvedrotary conveyor system for a machine of the general character 're ferredto.

Another object is to provide a rotary conveyor table sectionallyconstructed to permit its easy cleaning, assembly, repair orreplacement.

A further object is to provide new and improved means for supporting andguiding a conveyor table for rotary movement against the thrust actionof the table driving means.

Another object :is to provide a new and improved drive transmission forarotary conveyor table. I

A further object is to provide a treating apparatus of the generalcharacter referred to having adjoining loading :and discharge stations,and having means protectively separating said stations to prevent thearticles emerging into said discharge station from being contaminatedwith treating fluids coming from the directionof said loading station.

. Various other objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing particular description, and from an inspection of theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view somewhatdiagrammatic of a machine embodying the present invention, and shownenclosed in a casing, the outline of which is indicated in dot and dashlines;

Fig. 2 is a schematic top plan view showing the rotary conveyor table ofFig. l, but supported and guided in an alternative manner;

Fig. 3 is a section'taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevationnof a portion of the transmissionmeans for driving the rotary table;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sections taken on lines B-6 and l-'i of Fig. 1respectively; 1

Fig. 8 is a detailed radial section taken on line 88 of Fig. but withthe parts assembled;

Fig. 9 is a section similar to that of Fig. 8, but showing the partsseparated and prior to assembly; and j Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top planview of the frame .for the rotary table, parts of the apparatus ,SerialNo. 361,211, filed October 15,1940, and

attached thereto being shown separated therefrom.

The invention is shown ,for example in connection with an apparatuswhich can be employed for cleaning various types of articles and whichcomprises a casing 10 (Fig. 1.) defining an annular treating chamber ain'whieh articles may be treated in successive stages while they arebeing carried therethrough. For example, the articles may be subjectedto an alkali wash by means of sprays, rinsed. to removethe adheringalkali solution, doused with hot soluble oil rinse, subjected to blastsof hot air to remove all excessive moisture, and coo-led by airblast topermit the articles to be removed by hand. The different devices forcarrying out these cycles of operations form per .se 'no part of thepresent invention, and may be of :any suitable construction. Some ofthese devices may for example :be similar to those shown in theaforesaid application Serial'No. 361,211.

The casing 2|!) (Figs. ,1 and v3) includes :an outer peripheral wall .12and an inner cylindrical wall I13 defining therebetween the annulartreating chamber l I, and connected toa'suitable supporting structure.Mdesirablyby welding. These casing walls I2 and IIBare rigidlyconnected together as for example :by plates I-5 and it welded to saidwalls, the upper plate It being shown inclined downwardly in a radiallyinwarddirection to drain the processing liquids employed in the treatingchamber H The casing it with its intermediate plates .45 and i6 is splitin :half along thepla-neA, and the-two casing sections are dean opening213 (Fig. 1) exposing a section of the rotary table 22. IT-he exposedsection :of the retary table v22 defines a loading station 3 on whichthe articlesito betreated are deposited and an adjoining dischargestation 0 from which :the treated articles are removed. With adjoiningloading and discharge stations, the same operator can handle bothloading and discharge op-. erations.

The rotary table 22 comprises a plurality of annular segmentsconstructed to permit their easy assembly .into a structurally rigidunit, or to permit their disassembly for repair, replacement or cleaningpurposes. In the specific form shown, the rotary table 22 comprises aseries of similar segmental frame units 24 (Figs. 1, 3 and 10) eachcomprising three circumferentially spaced radial plate bars .25interconnected at their radially outer ends by a circular segment rim25, and at their radially inner ends by a circular segment rim 21. Atits radially outer end, the frame unit 24 is reinforced by braces 25shown as tubes extending diagonally between each radial frame bar 25 andthe outer segment rim 25. Near its radially inner end the frame unit 24is reinforced by cross-braces 30 shown as tubes extending chordallybetween adjoining radial frame bars 25. The frame elements25, 25, 21, 28and 55 are desirably interconnected into a strong unit by welding tofacilitate cleaning, to conform with the strictest sanitaryrequirements, and to form a light, strong, rigid unit, although as faras certain aspects of the invention are concerned, these frame elementsmay be interconnected in any other way, as for instance by bolting. Theframe unit 24 as described, defines a pair of adjoining openborder'structures in each of which is seated an openwork shelf 55 (Figs.1, 3 and l) desirably in the form'of a grate.

The segmental frame units 25 are detachably joined together near theirradially outer ends, as for example by bolts 34 (Figs. 1, 4 and passingthrough the adjacent radial bars 25 of adjoining frame units 24, andseparated by Washers or collars 35. t their radially inner ends, thesegmental frame units 24 are detachably joined by a table drivestructure to be hereinafter described.

The table frame is splitdiametrically into two halves along the plane Ain a manner to be hereinafter more fully described. Each of these tablehalves is shown consisting of four interconnected frame units 24. aredetachably held at their radially inner ends against relativedisplacement desirably by means of a pair of dowel pins 31 (Figs. 4, 5,8 and 10), secured to respective blocks 38 as for example by welding tothe inner peripheral surface of r the inner rim 2'! of oneframe half andextending into the pin retaining holes of respective blocks id-securedas for example by welding to the inner peripheral surface of the innerrim 2'! of the other frame half.

The rotary table frame assembled into -a rigid unit as described,carries the grates 33 in each of the sixteen frame openings shown. Eachof these grates 33 (Figs. 1 and 4) comprises a plurality of radial bars55 shown in the form of tubes preferably welded at their radially innerends to a cross-bar 45, and at their radially outer ends to a cross-barll. The end sections 48 of the cross-bar 4i areofiset radiallyoutwardlyfrom its intermediate section 55, so that these end sections extend intothe corners formed between the frame elements 25 and 26, and areretained in said corners against radially inward slide movement by theradially inwardly converging frame bars 25, and are retained againstradially outward movement by the outer frame rim 26. The grate 53 issupported at its radially outer end by the seating of the end sections48 of the grate crossbar 45 on respective diagonal frame braces 25, andis supported at its radially inner end by the seating of the gratecross-bar 46 on and along respective cross frame braces 35. By means ofthis construction, the grates 53 may be easily dropped in position intheir respective frame openings, .or can be 'just as easily liftedtherefrom. r i

The open work structureof the rotary table 22 formed by theinterconnected frame units 24 and the grates 33 permits circulation ofthe processing fluids through .the table and around the articles restingon said table. I v

To support and guide the table 22 for rotary movement, there is providedan annular track 55, shown in the form of a channel detachably connectedto the inner periphery of the frame structures 25, and supported onguide rollers 53 and 54. To provide a detachable connection between thetrack 55 and the table frame, each of the segmental frame structures 24has a horizontal circular plate segment 55 secured to the upper edge ofthe inner rim 2'! as for example by welding as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and10, so that said plate segment 58 has its two side sections projectingradially beyond both faces of said rim 2?. Plates 59 (Figs. 8 and 10)between the radial frame bars 25 and the plate segments 55 are'welded tosaid members and to the inner rim 2'! to reinforce the structural tie-upof these members 25, 21 and 55'.

Connected as for example by welding to the radially inner surface of theinner rim 2'! is a circular bar Bil, which in conjunction with the.radially inwardly projecting section of the 'platesegment 55 affords aneffective backing forthe web of the channel track 55. This track 55 isdetachably secured to the frame units 24 by means of tie plates 5! rigidwith the top flange of the track 55 desirably by welding, and eachbolted to the radially outer sections of the plate segments 55 ofadjoining frame units 24, so that These two table frame halves said tieplates 5| serve not only to detachably connect the track 55 to thesefram units 2 but also serve to interconnect these frame units togetherat their radially inner ends.

At the section A where the table 22 is diametrically split,,the track 55is similarly diametrically.

- two frame halves by means of tie plates 52.

These tie plates 62 are shown secured to the track 55 by screws 53, andto the plate segments 55 by bolts 54, and serve to rigidly interconnectthe two halves of the rotary frame units 24 as well as the two halves ofthe track 55 together,

and also serve to rigidly connect the track 55 and the rotary frametogether into a rigid structural unit. If desired, additional tie plates65 may be employed intermediate the, tie plates 5| and 52. Theseadditional tie plates 55 may be welded to the track 55 and bolted to thesegment 55.

Each of the casing half sections forms a unit with the correspondinghalf of the rotary table 22 and the track 55, so that each half of theapparatus can be completely assembled, and then the two halvesdetachably joined together as described.

The guide rollers 53 and 55 are'constructed and arranged to floatinglysupport the track 55 and hold it centrally against the outward radialcomponent at the thrust of the table sprocket and chain drive 85 and 8'!to'be described-while permitting enough limited play between thesprocket wheel 85 and said track to reduce stress on the drive elements55 and 8? to a'minimum,

For that purpose, the guide rollers 53, two of which are shown in Fig.1, support and guide the half of the track 55 extending approximatelycentrallyfrom opposite sides of the'table driving means'85 and 87, whilethe guide rollers 54, three O the direction of said thrust, whilepermitting limited movement of saidtrack in the opposite direction.

Each of the guide rollers 53 is supported as shown in Figs. 1 and 6 onthe inner peripheral casing wall E3, as for example by means of abracket plate ii! secured to said casing wall by bolts 1!, and carryingan axle l2 welded or otherwise made rigid with said bracket platerSupported on this axle 12 for free rotation thereabout, is a guideroller 53.

The radial thrust of the driving means 85 and 81 on the track 55 is in adirection substantially to the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5. Toresist this radial thrust, and at the same time permit the track 55 tobe displaced slightly in a direction opposite to the direction of thisradial thrust, each of the rollers 53 is provided only at one end with aperipheral flange i3 abutting the outer periphery of the track Theroller E3 is retained on the axle '12 against the action of this radialthrust by means of a plate it secured to the end of the axle 72, as forexample by the screws 15, and bearing against the hub of the roller 53.

Each of the rollers 54 is rotatably supported on an axle l2a (Fig. '7)fixed to a bracket lila bolted to the inner casing wall l3 by the boltsHa as in the construction of Fig. 6. The roller 54 is provided only atone end with a peripheral flange 13a, and is arranged so that saidflange engages the inner periphery of the track 55 to resist the radialthrust on said track. Since the thrusts on the rollers 54 are inradially inward CilI'EC'. tions against the casing wall i3, no meansneed be provided to prevent these rollers from slipping off theirrespective axles 520..

By providing each of the rollers 53 and 5G with only one guide flange, alighter and simpler construction is afforded. Furthermore, thisconstruction serves to floatingly support the track 55 and in turn therotary table 22, and thereby serves to reduce stress on the driveelements 85 and B1 to a minimum. This floating support of the track 55is desirable, especially where the drive elements 85 and Si consist of asprocket wheel and chain as in the present construction.

In Fig. l is shown two rollers 53 arranged along one half of the track55 and three rollers ii i arranged along the other half. In Fig. 2 isshown diagrammatically an alternative form in which two rollers 53 arearranged along one half of the track 55 on opposite sides of the tabledrive elements 85 and B7, and only one roller 5% centrally arranged onthe other half of the track 55.

The means for driving the table 22 comprises a motor 8t (Fig. 3), which:drives a shaft 8! through a suitable reduction gearing 32. This shaft8i drives a toothed wheel 85 through a slip or friction clutch 55, whichis of any suitable construction, such as that shown in copendingapplication Serial No. 404,126, and which is mounted directly above saidwheel. This toothed wheel is secured to an adapter ring 86a by means ofscrews 86b and the. adapter ring 860/. is in turn secured to the drum orcasing 860 by means of screws 85d. Suitable friction shoes (not shown)are arranged within the drum S60 and are connected to the shaft 8i andare caused to engage the inner face of the drum 86a to drive the latterand the gear 85. Thegear 85 meshes with an annular cog member or ring 87(Figs. 8, 4, 5, 8 and 9), secured in the annular channel of the track55, and thereby serves to rotate said track and in "turn the rotarytable 2 2. In case the rotation of the table 22 is accidentallyinterfered with, which may occur due to one or more articles beingconveyed thereby becoming disarranged and striking some obstruction, thedrum 86c slips relatively to the shoes therein thus permitting the tableto stop while the shaft 81 continues to rotate. From the foregoing, itwill be understood that no damage to the machine can occur in case thetable is accidentally stopped.

As a feature of the present invention, the drive elements 35 and 8? arenot of the ordinary annue lar gear and pinion type, but are of the drivchain type with the element 85 in the form of a sprocket wheel, and thecog ring 81 in the form of a drive chain. This construction is lessexpensive and more rugged than the ordinary annular gear and piniondrive, and permits the heat treatment of certain separable parts in themanufacture of the drive chain, while other parts are left untreated. Inthe form shown, the

drive chain 33 comprises a plurality of linksv interconnected byintermediate articulating joint structures which drivingly engage thesprocket teeth and cause the rotation of the chain. In

the form shown, the drive chain 37 includes two strands of links 93overlapping end to end and pivotaily interconnected by means of pintles9|. These pintles extend through bushings 91a secured at opposite endsto the links 953 of the link strands. On each bushing is supported asleeve or roller 92, these serving as the cogs of the chain. The links9-5 are made rigid with the inner face of the channel of the track 55desirably by welding, so that they form a rigid. unit therewith, and thecog sleeves 92! are desirably case-hardened to better withstand thedriving wear. The chain .8? with its many assembled parts permits theseparts to be made of diiferent structural characteristics. For instance,while the cog sleeves S2 are case-hardened before assembly,the links 9i:need not be so treated, and may be of forged untreated constructiontough enough to withstand the drive stresses imposed by thesprocketwheel as.

In the plane A at the two sections where the machine is diametricallysplit, the drive chain 8? does not have a pintle as shown in Fig. 5, andthe overlapping ends of the links at at this section A are held againstrelative endwisevdisplacement by the tie plates 82. This constructionfacilitates assembly of the two halves of the track 55 and the twocorresponding halves of the chain 8? rigid therewith.

Due to the fact that the track 55 is channel shaped in cross-section thechain 31, which forms an internal gear, is located in the channel ofsaid track, thus providing a compact structure including a combinedtrack and internal gear which occupies a minimum of space. Such a degreeof compactness would not be possible if the internal gear were formed bycutting its teeth since the gear would have to extend from the track andbeyond the vertical plane in which the free edges of the upper and lowerflanges of the track are located a sufficient distance to permit cuttingof the gear teeth.

The drive shaft ti extends upwardly through the plate of the supportingstructure it which plate has the reduction gear unit 32 secured thereto.The upper end of the shaft 8! is guided by a bracket s3 secured to abarssa secured to the inner'wali iii. The bar eta extends across an opening94 (Figs. 1 and 3) formed in the wall had to the clutch for conveniencein assembling and adjusting. The clutch is provided with a cover 9312which is diametrically split for the purpose of attachment or removal.The motor 80, gear reduction unit 82, clutch 85 and gear 85 aresupported to one side of the line of division A of the machine so as tobe supported entirely by one half of the machine.

To prevent the processing liquid coming from the direction of theloading station B from splashing on the treated article converging onthe discharge station C, there is provided a curtain 95 (Figs. 1 and 3)which is suspended from a radial rod 96 secured to the casing iii. Thiscurtain 95 is disposed to separate and partition the loading station Efrom the discharge station and comprises a series of strips 91overlapping at their sides and made of any suitable material.

As many changes can be made in the above apparatus, and many apparentlywidely different embodiments of this invention can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We have described what we believe to be the best embodiments of ourinvention. We do not wish/however, to be confined to the embodimentsshown, but what we desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in theappended claims.

We claim:

1. In combination, an annular rotary table, a circular track of channelsection connected to the inner periphery of said table to form arotatable unit therewith and having radially extending flanges, rollersupports adapted to engage the lower flange of said track, an annulardrive chain rigidly connected to said track between the radiallyextending flanges and throughout the length of said chain to form arotatable unit with said track, and a sprocket wheel meshing with saidchain, whereby said track serves also as a support'for the drive chain.

2. In a treating apparatus, an annular rotary table comprising a tableframe structure having an outer circular rim and an inner circular rim,1

a series of circumferentially spaced radially extending arms betweensaid rims defining a series of circiunferentially adjoining openings,and grates seated on said frame structure in the respective openings,and each grate having an outer bar extending substantially chordallyacross said outer rim and having its end sections extending into therespective corners formed between the outer rim and said radial barswhereby to retain the grate in the opening against radial movement, andbraces between the radial arms for supporting the grates.

' 3. In a treating apparatus, an annular rotary table comprising a tableframe structure having an outer rim and an inner rim, a series ofcircumferentially spaced radially extending arms between said rimsdefining a series of circumferentially adjoining openings, outer bracesacross the corners between said radial arms and said outer rim, innerbraces between adjacent radial arms, grates in the respective openingsandsupported on the inner and outer braces, each grate having a seriesof radial bars and a crossbar near each end, the outer cross-bar havingend sections seated on said outer braces and ex--' tending into saidcorners to retain the grate in the opening against radial movement.

4. In a treating apparatus, a rotary annular table, an annular tracksecured to the inner pe' ripheral section of said table and having aflat radially extending bearing surface, three or more rollers flangedonlyat one end engaging the bearing surface for supporting and guidingsaid track, and drive means partly carried by the track for rotatingsaid track, said drive means imparting to said track a thrust having aradially outward component, said rollers being arrangedcircumferentially around said track with one or more of the rollerflanges engaging the outer periphery of said track, and the other rollerflange or flanges engaging the inner periphery of said track, wherebyall of said rollers resist said radial thrust, while permitting limitedmovement of said track in' a direction opposite to the direction of saidradia1 thrust component.

5. In a treating apparatus, a rotary annular table, an annular tracksecured to the inner peripheral section of said table and having a fiatradially extending bearing surface, three or more rollers flanged onlyat one end engaging the bearing surface for supporting and guiding saidtrack, a drive chain carried by'said track and rigidly secured along itsentire length to said track, a sprocket drive wheel meshing with saidchain to rotate said table, and imparting to said table a thrust havinga radially outward component, said rollers being arrangedcircumferentially around said track with one or more of the rollerflanges engaging the outer periphery of said track to resist said radialthrust, and the' other roller flange or flanges engaging the innerperiphery of said track to assist in resisting said radial thrust, saidrollers permitting said track limited displacement in a directionopposite to the direction of said radial thrust.

6. In a treating apparatus, a rotary annular table, an annular track ofchannel section se-' cured to the inner peripheral section of said tableand having flat radially extending flanges,

a driv chain rigidly secured to the track along its entire length withsaid track and between the radially extending flanges, a sprocket drivewheel meshing with said chain to rotate said table, and roller meansengaging the lower flange for guiding and supporting said track againstthe radial thrust action of said sprocket wheel on said track whilepermitting said track limited movement in a direction opposite to thedirection of said thrust action.

ERICI-I R. ZADEMlACH.

WILLIAM W. CLARKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date

